If the Village that I live in passed a resolution that we do

Customer Question

If the Village that I live in passed a resolution that we do not feel we have a legal obligation to fulfill, is there anything that we can file legally to stop it or at least have a judge or arbitration board review the resolution to determine who is legally responsible?

Hello and welcome to JustAnswer. Please note: (A) This is general information and is not legal advice. No specific course of action is proposed herein, and no attorney-client relationship or privilege is formed by speaking to an expert on this site. By continuing, you confirm that you understand and agree to these terms; and (B) the site allows experts not participate in phone calls and I may or may not be able to participate in this feature.I am sorry to hear about this situation. Yes, there may be relief possibly. Can you please clarify as to what the resolution is about and how one feels it is not valid/constitutional/etc?This is not an answer, but an information request. I need this information to answer your question. Please reply, so I can answer your question. Thank you in advance.

I have attached the original letter "Sidewalk" that we presented to our Village Council in June. Also, is the follow-up letter "sidewalk 2," which was in response to a letter from the Village Solicitor. These letters mostly detail out our situation. Additionally, a member of the Zoning committee came to our home last Saturday and we learned the following information: The committee member did see the property markers, but he also said that the zoning committee can’t really help us, that would have to come from Council (we were actually referred to attend the zoning meeting and streets meetings this week from the Council at their last meeting on July 13, 2015). He also told my husband about the status of the new road (phase 3 of the Autumn Meadows subdivision)-- it was granted "private road" status, allowing them to be exempt from the Village's own Zoning Ordinance, Section 410, stating that 410.01 C Professional curb-cuts shall be mandatory, and 410.02 "...Sidewalks shall be mandatory for all new construction." We had previously received a letter from the Village Solicitor’s stating that : “Furthermore, the Village of Seville will eventually require all landowners without sidewalks to construct sidewalks. Each year, the Village’s sidewalk program targets different areas of town for construction and repair. This allows the Village to go forward with construction and repair of the sidewalks that are not installed by the residents subject to the resolution of necessity without the necessity of borrowing funds or issuing bonds, as these methods would add extra costs to the each land owner’s assessment. Accordingly, there is a rational basis for the current sidewalk program and it is applied evenly to all landowners within the Village.” Isn’t that ironic, being as they just granted PRIVATE road status to the new road Tall Meadows, off of Mandarin—allowing them to NOT install cut curbs or sidewalks—which is against Section 410 of the Village’s very own Zoning Ordinance? So obviously, they exempt and make exceptions for whomever they want. Doesn’t seem very fair and equal to me.Also interesting point of information from the zoning committee member: He said that the developer of Autumn Meadows wasn’t planning on connecting the two developments—the Village specifically asked them to. Shouldn’t the Village have had a plan in place for the sidewalk at this entrance to the development to be constructed by the developer, just as the front entrance had a sidewalk constructed by the developer? The Village either didn’t have a plan, dropped the ball, or just doesn’t care. Any way that you look at it, I still find it hard to believe that the Village’s negligence should result in a financial burden on my family!I hope that these letters detail out the information that you need. I am happy to fax the resolution itself to you and also the Solicitor's letter of response, which I cited in the 2nd letter.

Yes, selective enforcement. AND as our letters point out, we are not new construction, the road that went in by our home leading to the new development (Autumn Meadows) was new construction and the developer should have constructed the sidewalk at this entrance to their new development, just as the developer did at the other entrance to their development, off of Route 3.

Thank you. The primary argument here would likely be that selective enforcement by a government agency. This is not legal under the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. See here.However, one has to file in court to have this heard, so the proper step would be to initiate a lawsuit, which may or may not be practical.Please note: If I tell you simply what you wish to hear, this would be unfair to you. I want to be honest with you and sometimes this means providing information that is not optimal. Negative ratings are reserved for experts who are rude or for erroneous information. Please rate me on the quality of my information; do not punish me for my honesty.I hope this helps and clarifies. Gentle Reminder: Use the SEND or REPLY button to keep chatting, or please RATE when finished. You may always ask follow ups at no charge after rating. Kindly rate my answer as one of TOP THREE FACES/STARS and then SUBMIT, as this is how I get credit for my time with you. Rating my answer the bottom two faces/stars or failing to submit the rating does not give me credit and reflects poorly on me, even if my answer is correct. I work very hard to formulate an informative and honest answer for you; please reciprocate my good faith.

What do we need to do to file a lawsuit? Also, aside from the unequal enforcement issue, we are curious if the resolution that they passed would be enforceable if it does not contain labels on the exact dimensions (dimension of 32.75x4 feet-- no label for the 32.75) and no estimate of tax assessment was given either. Both items are supposed to be included per the Ohio Revised Code.

The resolution is enforceable until/until rules unenforceable by a Court of Law or rescinded by the Village.It is very complicated to file a lawsuit. This is like asking "how do I perform surgery?" Since this is a general information only medium, it would be next to impossible for me to describe all the nuances of drafting a pleading, filing it, serving process, going through pretrial motions, and preparing for and having a trial. I am sorry about this. What I can say is that one would need to do all of these things. Hence, it is best to use counsel.Gentle Reminder: Please, use the REPLY or SEND button to keep chatting, or rate positively and SUBMIT your rating when we are finished. You may always ask follow ups at no charge after rating.

Yes. The ordinance is presumed valid until/unless ruled unenforceable by a Court of Law or rescinded by the Village. It is not automatic voided if it is missing verbiage under ORC 729.02.Gentle Reminder: Please, use the REPLY or SEND button to keep chatting, or rate positively and SUBMIT your rating when we are finished. You may always ask follow ups at no charge after rating.

We attended a zoning committee meeting tonight, which we were referred to by the Village Council, to discuss this issue, only to be completely shut down by a Council member that sits on the committee. He made the allegation that they cannot discuss this issue with us, pending litigation against the Village. We made it absolutely clear that we have not filed anything against the Village, nor do we have an attorney representing us at this time. Still he insisted that they cannot help us at this time. What can we do, if Council/committee members are not going to give us information or answer our questions based on untrue information that they fabricate?

Hello,Then this falls back to my original answer, which was: The primary argument here would likely be that selective enforcement by a government agency. This is not legal under the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. However, one has to file in court to have this heard.You are dealing with laymen who may not be able to discuss nuanced law with you, anyhow.Gentle Reminder: Please, use the REPLY or SEND button to keep chatting, or rate positively and SUBMIT your rating when we are finished. You may always ask follow ups at no charge after rating.